tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409482909880290151.post8838119274578645192..comments2019-01-11T13:21:48.100+01:00Comments on EL KAOS UT: ISIS/ISIL kills 300 Iraqi soldiers by chlorine gas attack in Saqlawiyahxronoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107445158803745642noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409482909880290151.post-16238342318891543862014-11-07T11:28:51.151+01:002014-11-07T11:28:51.151+01:00US troops claimed chemical weapons exposure in Ira...US troops claimed chemical weapons exposure in Iraq, report says...<br /><br />More than 600 U.S. service members told military medical staff that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, The New York Times reported Thursday. Pentagon officials said the department will now expand its outreach to veterans and establish a toll-free hotline for reporting potential exposures and seeking medical evaluation or care, the newspaper said.<br /><br />Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an internal review of military records after the Times reported in October that U.S. troops encountered degraded chemical weapons from the 1980s that had been hidden or used in makeshift bombs. The initial newspaper report disclosed that 17 service members had been injured by sarin or sulfur mustard agent, and several more came forward after the story appeared, the Times said Thursday...................http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/07/us-troops-claimed-chemical-weapons-exposure-in-iraq-report-says/<br />7/11/14Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409482909880290151.post-67654175593582066352014-11-07T11:07:08.940+01:002014-11-07T11:07:08.940+01:00Pentagon did not help US soldiers at risk from che...Pentagon did not help US soldiers at risk from chemical weapons in Iraq — media ...<br /><br />According to The New York Times, over 600 US soldiers have applied for medical assistance due to possible exposure to chemical weapons in Iraq since 2003.<br /><br />The Pentagon ignored the requests for medical assistance and didn&#39;t provide any help to soldier that claimed possible exposure to chemical weapons.<br /><br />The Pentagon suddenly reconsidered its attitude towards the requests after The New York Times reported that the US troops found about 5 thousand units of chemical weapons in Iraq in the period from 2004 to 2011. Part of the weapons had been produced before 1991 with the help of western states. The soldiers that found the weapons could have been exposed.<br /><br />The US Department of Defense was hiding these facts for years, but after the newspaper revealed the truth, an investigation was authorized which showed that the number of the affected reached hundreds of people.<br />http://en.itar-tass.com/world/758502<br />7/11/14Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409482909880290151.post-24140147897325643072014-11-07T10:59:19.206+01:002014-11-07T10:59:19.206+01:00Hunderte US-Soldaten waren Chemiewaffen ausgesetzt...Hunderte US-Soldaten waren Chemiewaffen ausgesetzt ...<br /><br />Mehr als 600 US-Soldaten sind nach eigenen Angaben nach der US-Invasion im Irak 2003 chemischen Kampfstoffen ausgesetzt gewesen. Eine von US-Verteidigungsminister Chuck Hagel angeordnete Prüfung der Akten habe ergeben, dass in den vergangenen Jahren deutlich mehr Soldaten über Kontakt mit Chemiewaffen klagten, als bisher bekannt war, sagten Vertreter des US-Verteidigungsministeriums am Donnerstag.<br /><br />Sie bestätigten damit Recherchen der New York Times, die in einer Artikelreihe über die Klagen der Soldaten berichtet hatte (KURIER.at berichtete, siehe unten). US-Präsident George W. Bush hatte die Invasion zum Sturz des irakischen Machthabers Saddam Hussein unter anderem mit der Bedrohung durch Massenvernichtungswaffen begründet. Es wurde jedoch nie ein Beweis für ein aktives Programm zur Herstellung derartiger Waffen gefunden. Allerdings hätten die Soldaten Überreste alternder Chemiewaffenbestände entdeckt, berichtete die New York Times. Demnach wurden rund 5000 Gefechtsköpfe, Granaten und Bomben mit chemischen Kampfstoffen gefunden.................http://kurier.at/politik/ausland/hunderte-us-soldaten-waren-im-irak-chemiewaffen-ausgesetzt/95.609.212<br />7/11/14Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409482909880290151.post-2501922654399934392014-10-22T10:17:20.770+02:002014-10-22T10:17:20.770+02:00Comment by the Information and Press Department of...Comment by the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia on the discovery of chemical weapons in Iraq (MFA Russia)....<br /><br />An article in The New York Times drew our attention. Citing official sources and until recently classified documents of the US Department of Defence, the article talks about the discovery and secret destruction by the occupying coalition forces in Iraq in 2004-2011 of up to 5,000 different chemical munitions produced during the Iran-Iraq conflict, including those produced using technology provided by Western countries.<br /><br />This information raises a number of important questions in relation to existing international legal norms. Having found chemical weapons, the United States, in accordance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, should have declared them to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and then destroy them under the OPCW direct control, which was not done for reasons that are now obvious.<br /><br />Such legal voluntarism, nihilism and selectivity in favour of its own geopolitical interests have become a habit for Washington, a fact that is corroborated, following the well-known events in Iraq and Libya, by the policy pursued by the US administration with regard to Syria, including in relation to the elimination of its chemical warfare potential. Ignoring existing issues regarding the safe destruction of chemical weapons and their components in Iraq and Libya and looking away from the repeated use of toxic chemicals as chemical warfare agents in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State rebels and other Islamist groups, Washington and its allies continue a massive campaign accusing the Syrian authorities of allegedly hiding part of its military chemical programme.<br /><br />Furthermore, even before the completion of an investigation by a special OPCW mission on the military use of chlorinated compounds, a verdict of guilt of the al-Assad government was categorically rendered. Meanwhile, similar events in Khan al-Assal and East Huta in 2013, caused by provocations of the Syrian opposition, tell a different tale, and the international programme for chemical demilitarisation of Syria is nearing completion.<br /><br />Once again, we call upon the United States to consider the harmful and irresponsible nature of such approaches. Double standards are unacceptable, particularly in the Middle East, which seems to have become a testing ground for terrorists honing their skills in the synthesis, production and use of chemical warfare agents. <br />http://mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/0/0825BF51E016736A44257D78005F6470<br />21/10/14Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409482909880290151.post-54770333546751839012014-10-16T11:40:21.087+02:002014-10-16T11:40:21.087+02:00Chemical arms in ISIS territory in Iraq spark fear...Chemical arms in ISIS territory in Iraq spark fear...<br /><br />With a recent report revealing that the U.S. government had tried to hide the extent to which its troops were exposed to chemical weapons in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, fears are mounting that extremist militants could possibly use the antiquated arms which are reportedly stored in ISIS-held territories in Iraq.<br /><br />The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing intelligence documents and former soldiers, that American forces uncovered 5,000 warheads, shells and bombs filled with chemical agents but their findings were kept secret.<br /><br />The newspaper, citing government papers obtained through the Freedom of Information Act request, said although U.S. forces never found evidence of an active program, they did find remnants of an aging chemical arsenal.<br /><br />While the U.S. government said the abandoned weapons no longer pose a threat, there are fears that militants could use these arms in the production of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), The British Independent newspaper reported Wednesday.<br /><br />The UK paper also reported “that this summer the Iraqi government said it had witnessed intruders looting the corroded equipment before their surveillance cameras were shut off” in the ISIS-controlled and unguarded region where chemical weapons are reportedly present.<br /><br />A spokesperson for the Pentagon/ or a confidential source at the Pentagon? also told the New York Times that the suspected weapons had to be destroyed “promptly.”<br /><br />“These suspect weapons were recovered under circumstances in which prompt destruction was dictated by the need to ensure that the chemical weapons could not threaten the Iraqi people, neighboring states, coalition forces, or the environment,” a statement read.<br />Former colonel sounds the alarm<br /><br />Meanwhile, a former commander of the British Army’s chemical and nuclear weapons protection forces sounded the alarm that ISIS militants could possibly make dirty bombs as it has the capability of doing so.<br /><br />Ex-colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told The National Post that ISIS had shown it was determined to use chemical arms in Syria, and now the militants are said to have made “significant” advances in Iraq despite the U.S.-led air strikes targeting the radical group.<br /><br />“These materials are not as secure as we had been led to believe and now pose some significant threat to the coalition in Iraq fighting ISIS,” he said................http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/16/Chemical-arms-in-ISIS-held-Iraqi-territory-sparks-fears.html<br />16/10/14Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409482909880290151.post-16308996371997046172014-09-23T05:25:55.866+02:002014-09-23T05:25:55.866+02:00Syria: US begins air strikes on Islamic State targ...Syria: US begins air strikes on Islamic State targets...<br /><br />The US and allies said to include Arab nations have launched the first air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, the Pentagon says.<br /><br />Spokesman Rear Adm John Kirby said fighter and bomber jets and Tomahawk missiles were used in the attack.<br /><br />The strikes were expected as part of President Barack Obama&#39;s pledge to &quot;degrade and destroy&quot; IS, which has taken huge swathes of Syria and Iraq.<br /><br />The US has already launched 190 air strikes in Iraq since August.<br /><br />However, Monday&#39;s action expands the campaign against the militant group across the national border into Syria.<br />Ongoing operations<br /><br />Islamic State - also known as Isis, or Isil - has taken control of a vast area between Syria and Iraq, imposed a harsh brand of Islam, and declared a caliphate.<br /><br />The group, which the CIA says could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria, has executed captive soldiers, aid workers and journalists, and threatened the mass killing of Iraqi religious minorities.<br /><br />Unconfirmed reports on social media indicate many of the strikes hit Raqqa, an IS stronghold in eastern Syria the group captured in 2013.<br /><br />Sites reportedly struck include the Governor&#39;s House, the Equestrian Club and a hospital.<br /><br />The BBC&#39;s Barbara Plett -Usher in Washington DC says the strikes in Syria differ from those in Iraq: while the government of Iraq invited US intervention against the IS militants, the Syrian government has not done so.<br /><br />That puts the US in the position of bombing an Arab country without its consent, our correspondent reports.<br /><br />The US and allies including the UK have ruled out co-operating against IS with Syria&#39;s President Bashar al-Assad, whom they accuse of responsibility for huge numbers of civilian deaths during Syria&#39;s civil war......................http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29321136<br />23/9/14Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com